Long-lost JFK film surfaces at WPI

Bronislaus B. Kush, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Published Tuesday November 19, 2013 at 7:24 pm

WORCESTER — Some long-lost film of then-U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy has surfaced at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, exciting local history buffs and drawing interest from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

The 16-millimeter film, which runs about two minutes, shows Mr. Kennedy receiving a pledge pin from the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity on the night of Oct. 2, 1958, at the Worcester Armory building at Lincoln Square.

Mr. Kennedy's wife, Jacqueline, and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, the future U.S. attorney general, are also featured in the shoot. Mr. Kennedy receives his pin from Donald Ferrari, then president of the fraternity and a member of the class of 1959.

The film, which has never been shown publicly before, is grainy and badly lit.

In it, Mr. Kennedy is seen on a podium festooned with flowers and a welcome banner.

The film was screened recently for Phi Kappa Thetas now on campus.

According to WPI spokesman Andy Baron, the fraternity, then known as Theta Kappa Pi, was frequently referred to as the "National Fraternity for Catholic Men."

Officials said Frank Pakulski, a 1959 WPI alumnus who now lives in Vermont, was preparing to move 10 years ago when he found a reel marked "PKT Pledging." The film was on the reel.

WPI officials believe the footage holds historical significance.

William Wallace, executive director of the Worcester Historical Museum, said that Mr. Kennedy, while serving as senator, was often in town for political and other events.

However, he said he's not sure how many times those Worcester visits were captured on film.

"I can tell you that we don't have any," said Mr. Wallace.

Mr. Baron said the film has drawn the interest of Mr. Kennedy's presidential archives.

In addition to visiting WPI in October 1958, Mr. Kennedy stopped by Assumption College on Oct. 2 to dedicate the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Memorial Science Center to his older brother, according to Assumption spokeswoman Lorraine U. Martinelle.

Through a foundation, the Kennedy family had donated $150,000 toward the reconstruction of Assumption after the school's original campus was destroyed in the 1953 tornado. The science center was one of the five original buildings constructed on Assumption's new campus on Salisbury Street.

On Friday, the nation will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas.